The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1887-04-02
Special Contributors.
BREVITY AND DESTINY.
BY REV. r. o. WILLIAMS.
Upper Lisle, N. "

"Thou hast made my days as hand
breadth''-"tbey are swifter than a
weaver's shuttle" So said the Psalm
ist; so said Job, and he added, ''We
are but yesterday, and our days on earth
are shadow" David says also, "Our
days on. earth are as shadow, and there
is no abiding" hope of continuance.
All this is only an expression of human
experience. The brevity of life is
common theme, an unavoidable thought.
Yet, on this brief cast of a weayer's
shuttle, popular theology has suspended
the destinies of the whole human race,
for better or for worse through all eter-
nifty. 1t is called 'day of probation"
wherein poor, frail, ignorant human
beings are to be tried for life-a capital
trial, whose end for the wicked will be
infinitely worse than choking with a
halter, or chopping off hand, or strang-
ling with a garrote. But God formed
and fashioned the human race, and
knew full well, aye, with unerring GER
tainty, what would be the result of all
this probation knew from eternity
who and how many Of these vast and
countless millions would rise to glory,
and how many sink to unutterable tor
4 ment According to old Calvinism he
foreordaiped such results, and made thez
doom of man unavoidable. Even Armi
mans on this point gain nothing from
the plea of free will. 1t carries moth
ing beyond the scope of infinite knowl-
edge and makes no change in the GER
tainty of the result. The advocates of
a free will, no matter how explained,
must allow an infinite foreknowledge
of the ultimate impenitence of every
sinner who failed in his probation
That ultimate impeDitence must have
been as fixed, certain and unavoidable
as it could have been made by an abso-
lutte decree of reprobation.
The argument then of free will, taken
in connection with punishment with
out end, is only blind or a suDterfuge
to cover over, conceal and apologize for
very dark feature of Christian faith.
No fact could be known with certainty
as occurring in the future, unless some
provision or something else were made
to secure its occurrence.
Look again, God is good "God is
love-" Love is the foundation and
handspring of all his purl oses, and all
his doings. All denominations of Chris
tians speak in admiration and approval
of the love of God and the love of
Christ. They all unite in calling it in
finite, Interchangeable and endless. If
God created men, placed them in this
world, and then left them poor, blind,
ignorant, dazed, and in utter confusion
of thought, to work their way upward
through probation, and avoid eternal
evils, terror, shame, suffering and 1.-THE
pains of hell forever" is he good ? Can
he be good Is it possible to recon-
cile such horrible results with infinite
goodness
John Noonan sent his son, named
Peter, to the residence of neighbor
to borrow pint of meal. There was
a long stretch Of forest to pass through
which John knew to be infested with
wild beasts, horrid serpents, and pois
onous herbs. Peter had never travelled
the road and knew nothing personally
of its dangers. "Now, Peter" said his
father, ''you must keep closely in the
straight path, for 1 tell you there are
great dangers in the way; there are
bears, wolves, tigers, hyenas and other
savage beasts in the forest, but if you
don't get out of the path, think you
will not be hurt" John couldn't know
positively, that his son would wander
and be devoured, but he knew that this
result was very imminent and very pro-
bable. He knew there was no safety out
of the path, and might be some in it.
Was John Noonan a good father in
sending his son out on such perilous
mission? Let every mother answer
the question. There is not one that
would not condemn the man as brutal.
Even the return of the boy unhurt
would scarcely change the aspect of the
question. If he passed through, as by
amiracle, it was no honor and no credit
to John, the father, who sent him into
such perils.